Arts Council of Wales and BBC Cymru Wales announce Public Value Partnership

Arts Council of Wales and BBC Cymru Wales today announce plans for an exciting joint initiative that will provide new opportunities to identify and nurture creative talent in Wales – a first of its kind.
02 May 2013

The Public Value Partnership between both organisations aims to create closer co-operation, encourage the commissioning of new work and grow digital and craft skills across the creative sector. The joint announcement will be made by Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Wales, and Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director of BBC Cymru Wales at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

The partnership will provide a stronger and more defined relationship between the Arts Council of Wales, BBC Cymru Wales and arts organisations, artists, museums and libraries throughout Wales. It is also hoped that the new partnerships will encourage greater collaboration across the arts and cultural sector.

Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Wales said:

"Our partnership with BBC Cymru Wales is about working together to maximise the value to the people of Wales of the public funding that they contribute to our two organisations. It’s about pooling our expertise to ensure that the best of the nation’s Arts are seen and enjoyed. But it’s also about investing in the creative potential of our leading artists, ensuring that they have the skills and expertise to thrive in the modern digital age."

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director, BBC Cymru Wales added:

"This partnership sets the stage for our future relationship, ensuring that the skills, knowledge and passion of both organisations can come together to benefit existing and new audiences across Wales. Together, we want to explore how we ensure that the Arts in Wales can really flourish in a digital space.

"When we work together, we can be so much greater than the sum of our parts. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is living proof of that. But we’ve also seen the benefits of partnership through our recent joint work on The Space, which combined technical and digital knowhow with performing talent to reach new audiences in new ways."

There’s nothing new in the Arts Council of Wales and BBC Cymru Wales working together. Both are engaged in national advocacy on behalf of arts and culture in support of the ethos of publicly funded arts and broadcasting. And their joint funding of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales – a unique partnership across the UK – exemplifies how both organisations have brought cultural excellence to the many across the years. They’re also the two largest investors in publicly funded creativity in Wales and share a strong commitment to deepening and widening audiences for the arts.

The Public Value Partnershiprepresents a key element of the Arts Council and BBC Cymru Wales’ commitment to increasing public value, and their shared ambition to build digital innovation in the arts, making our world class arts available to new and bigger audiences.